


Got a New Tin Roof (And Maybe You Too)

by homosociallyyours



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Flirting, Fluff, Hot Weather, M/M, Small alcohol mention, Texas, but mostly this is just a gratuitous texas fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 13:18:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19831036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosociallyyours/pseuds/homosociallyyours
Summary: It's Harry's first summer in Austin, TX and to say it's unbearably hot would be an understatement. He hopes that adding a tin roof to his back porch will stave off a little of the heat, but first he'll need to contend with helping his hot contractor install the roof on a very warm summer day. With a little bit of flirtation and a slight chance of rain, it just might be possible Harry that could find some relief.





	Got a New Tin Roof (And Maybe You Too)

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "tin". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/tin_tin), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1 and 2), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/185709101043/wordplay-2019-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).

There’s absolutely no reason that any sane person should move to Texas. At least that’s what Harry thinks as he walks to his car in the most oppressive heat he’s ever experienced in his life. 

When he took the job at the LBJ Library and Museum, he thought he was making a brilliant choice. The weather when he’d come down for his interview had been beautiful-- warm and bright but not too hot --with wildflowers blooming in the medians of highways and anywhere else they could find a patch of grass. The job paid well and the people he met were friendly and seemed to love their work. It was a perfect fit. He’d left that weekend confident that if he got an offer, he’d take the position. He’d also called his sister and said something along the lines of, “I don’t know what people are complaining about, it’s gorgeous here!” 

He hadn’t thought about the fact that the lovely weather he’d enjoyed so much was happening during February. _Winter time._ By the time he got to Austin in late March, driving a big U-Haul truck with his cat up front in a carrier next to him, the weather had gotten noticeably warmer. 

And it wasn’t a fluke. Every day the temperatures climbed higher, and by the beginning of May Harry had given up on trying to bike everywhere and bought a used car, grateful to blast the AC as he made the commute to work. 

It’s July now, and there are moments when Harry thinks he’s almost gotten used to how hot it is. _Almost_. Unfortunately none of them happen when he’s getting into his car after a long day at work. He takes the sunshade down and risks touching his steering wheel with the tip of his finger, wincing at the burn it gives him. His co-workers have teased him about it at times, but he’s seen news reports about how hot it can get inside a car here. One time a reporter baked actual cookies on their dash. He shudders at the thought. 

His drive home is short, and he sighs with relief when he makes it inside his house, the interior blessedly cool even with the central air set at a fairly high temperature. Bug comes padding toward him before he’s even set his things down, her tummy swaying a bit as she walks. She gives him one long meow and he leans down to pick her up and let her rub her face against his in greeting. 

“Yeah, Bug-a-boo, I _am_ home early! Someone’s coming over to see about putting a roof over that old patio that you wanna sit on so much.” Harry looks at the sliding glass doors that lead to the little backyard he has, excited for the day when he won’t have to have them covered up by curtains to keep the house from overheating. “Might even let you out there after we’ve got some shade.” Bug squirms and Harry lets her jump from his arms to go meow at the sliding doors as if to say, ‘well hurry up then.’

Harry checks his phone, wondering how much time he has before the contractor shows up, when he hears a knock at the door. It’s not surprising that this man is punctual, but given that the contractor he’d hired to do a few things when he moved in wasn’t, Harry finds himself quite pleased. 

He’s not sure what he was expecting when he opens the door, but he’s certain it wasn’t this. The man in front of him is positively gorgeous, with blue eyes the color of the sky behind him and a lovely smile on his face. He’s short and well muscled and somehow manages to look pulled together in spite of wearing nothing more than a comfortable pair of work jeans and a white t-shirt. 

“I’m Louis,” he says, sticking out his hand for Harry to shake. “Hope you don’t mind I’m a few minutes early.” Harry shakes his head, unable to speak for a moment before he realizes he should take Louis’ hand. 

“Harry, and it’s perfect timing, actually. Come in, yeah?” He lets Louis go in front of him and stops for a moment to adjust the thermostat down a bit, kicking the air on. He’s suddenly much warmer than he was a moment before. 

“So the porch is out through these doors then?” Louis gestures toward the sliders and Harry nods. As Louis peeks through the curtain to take a look at the patio, bending down to let Bug sniff his hand and get a few pets, Harry glances at his ass. Even in the somewhat loose jeans he’s wearing it manages to stand out nicely, and Harry finds that he needs to shut his eyes to stop himself from continuing to stare. 

“I’d go with a tin roof even though it’s a bit more money. Really won’t be too bad with something this size.” 

Harry opens his eyes and smiles, nodding along. “Yeah, tin roof sounds great, kind of romantic, right?” Louis chuckles and shrugs lightly. 

“Depends on the company I guess. But it’s nice when you get a big rainstorm through here. You can sit out under the roof and feel peaceful for a bit. Think you’ll like it a lot.” Louis winks at him before turning around and unlocking the sliding door to take measurements as Harry tries to stop himself from thinking romantic thoughts about his (straight??) contractor. 

Louis promises to text Harry with an estimate and go from there, and just a few days later he arrives on a Saturday morning to start work on the job. The cost of the whole thing was just slightly more than Harry could afford-- he’s just bought a house, after all --but Louis agreed to let him help out a bit for a slight reduction in cost. 

Harry throws on a pair of cut off jorts and an old but sturdy pair of boots in addition to a t-shirt that he’s worn to do a few other projects around the house. He puts on a pot of coffee, about to make breakfast for himself when he hears a knock at the door. Louis’ a bit early. 

“Realized on my way that I should text you-- I brought breakfast.” Louis holds up a greasy paper bag and Harry raises his eyebrows, curious what’s inside. “Tacos,” Louis says as he upends the bag on the kitchen table, “from the Taco Window.” The gleam in his eye tells Harry he should be excited by this, but he isn’t sure why. Louis must cotton on to this, because he cocks his head to one side and smiles as he asks Harry if he’s ever had a breakfast taco from the Window before. 

“Ehh, I’ve had the one with the fried avocado, what’s that place called?” Harry grabs one of the foil packets and opens it to peek inside. 

“Torchy’s? Jesus Christ you’re definitely not from around here then.” Louis rolls his eyes and laughs. “Those are fine, but they’re not classic. These things cost about a buck a piece and they’re just plain bacon egg and cheese. That’s how breakfast tacos should be.” 

“I’ve only had the Torchy’s ones,” Harry admits as he sniffs at the salsa that accompanies the tacos Louis brought. It smells fiery, and he adds it to his taco gingerly before taking a careful bite. “Haven’t had anyone to show me where the good breakfast tacos are yet.” 

Louis shoves a taco into his mouth and nods, chewing his food hastily so he can respond. “Well you’re missing out. I’ll have to leave you a list of places to go before we’re done here today.” 

The tacos disappear quickly, and after they’ve both had a cup of coffee Louis leads Harry out to his truck to haul all the materials through the house and out onto the porch. The two of them make quick work of bringing in the tin and the lumber together, then cart through all the tools Louis says he’ll need before he locks the rest up in the back of his truck. It’s only 10 in the morning, but already the sun feels oppressively hot to Harry and he wonders how in the world they’re going to get most of the work done in a single day. 

As the hours pass, though, Harry stops thinking about the time. He doesn’t notice that his muscles ache a bit from holding his arms over his head to put the frame together for the roof. And he almost forgets that it’s probably going to get past 100 degrees fucking Farenheit today, in spite of the fact that his hair and clothes are sweat-soaked after just a couple of hours of being outside. The reason for this is Louis, plain and simple. 

He’s focused and hardworking, giving Harry clear and concise instructions whenever he needs a hand, but he also manages to keep a bit of banter going the whole time. He asks Harry about his work and tells him about how he took over the business from his mom after trying out architecture and design for a while. How much he missed the feeling of holding a hammer in his hand or fitting together wood that he’s just mitered perfectly. 

In turn, Harry tells him about studying history, all the while imagining he’d end up teaching because he loves children, only to discover that he was terrible at it, unable to turn all the dates and information he knew into something engaging for the kids he tried to teach. Getting into curation and preservation took a lot more schooling than he would’ve liked, but he gets to work with specific subjects and dive deep into them, gathering all the primary source materials and information he can and then watching other people turn it into something far more engaging than he ever could. 

As they stop for lunch, Louis laughs to himself. “I have a hard time picturing you not making something interesting,” he says when Harry asks him what’s funny. “You’ve got something about you that seems like you’d make anything you talked about more fun.” 

Harry looks back at him, admiring his easy smile and the comfort with which he carries himself, like he’s not drenched in sweat and wearing an old UT shirt with the sleeves cut off. Or maybe it’s not that he’s confident in spite of that, but that he’s confident in part because of it. He’s proud of the calluses on his hands and the deep tan on his arms, the sweat matting his armpit hair and trailing slowly down his neck and under his loose shirt collar. Louis waves his hand in front of Harry’s face and Harry jolts, blushing red at being caught out so completely. 

“Sorry, I, um. Thanks? I guess I’m not good at taking compliments.” 

Louis’ eyes twinkle as he looks back at him with a smile. “Riiight,” he says, nodding. “I know how that is.” Harry isn’t sure if he imagines the slightly appraising look Louis gives him just then, but he deeply hopes he isn’t. 

The rest of the day passes faster than Harry could’ve imagined. Even with breaks, they’ve got the whole thing laid out by late afternoon, and all that’s left to do is for Louis to climb up and put some flashing against the roof to make sure the rain water will drain properly and not seep under the eaves. At least that’s what Louis says-- Harry actually has no idea what most of it means. He looks on, holding the ladder as Louis climbs up anyway, in awe of how quickly he works when he’s not telling Harry what to do or where to stand. 

“That should get it,” Louis says after he steps off the ladder. He looks around slowly. “Only thing I’d say is you’d do well to get a rain barrel out here, catch the water that runs off that tin roof. Only way to keep anything growing here if you’re interested in that.” 

He isn’t, necessarily, but Harry nods anyway. “I’m not sure I’d know where to find one. Maybe you could help me out?” 

“I bet I could.” Louis’ smile is a bit teasing and Harry wonders if maybe Louis is flirting back at him. Harry isn’t certain how obvious he’s really been, but he’s sure he hasn’t been _too_ subtle, and Louis has yet to run off and make excuses. 

They pack up all of the leftover scrap and tools and carry them back out to his truck, the day’s activities finally catching up to Harry as they slide the sawhorse in and Louis closes up the truck. Harry stretches up and then bends at the waist, closing his eyes as he moves into a very casual downward dog. He feels his shirt slide down and fall over his head, and then he hears Louis cough and scuff his shoes on the concrete drive. 

“Sorry,” Harry says as he stands up. “I’m not used to this kind of work. Had to have a stretch.” 

“Didn’t mind it.” Louis shrugs, a smile teasing at the corner of his mouth. “I guess I should probably--” 

“Do you want to come in for a beer?” It was the first thing to pop into Harry’s mind, and even as he says it he wonders vaguely if he even has any beer to offer if Louis says yes. 

“I wouldn’t mind it,” Louis says, nodding for Harry to lead the way. 

He does have beer-- thank goodness --and Louis looks happy with the bottle of Shiner so Harry figures he has decent beer as well even if he hasn’t tried it yet. They clink their bottles together and then down their first cold sips in mutual deep pulls at the bottle, Harry notices as he watches Louis from the corner of his eye. He has a six pack; maybe this won’t be their only beer. 

They start talking about life again and Harry listens as Louis tells him stories of how Austin was when he was growing up here, all the little small town aspects he used to love that don’t really exist any more and some of the newer things he’s found to enjoy. The city sounds fun the way he talks about it, not just the fiery place that Harry has experienced, and Harry finds himself leaning in and wanting to hear more. 

He’s so engrossed in chatting with Louis that the crack of thunder actually makes him jump as it rolls through the sky. Looking out the window, he can see the deep grey clouds that have rolled in over his neighborhood. He looks at Louis and sees his eyes twinkle, a grin spreading over his face. 

“Looks like you’re gonna get to test drive that tin roof sooner than we thought.” Heat lightning flashes outside and seems to reflect in Louis’ eyes as he smiles. 

“Will you stay for it?” Harry asks. He’s flooded with relief when Louis nods right away. 

“Think that’s only fair.” The rain starts falling a moment later, the fat drops coming down fast and hard. Louis lifts his eyebrows and stands, downing the last sip of his beer as he opens the sliding door. “Let’s go, before it passes through.” 

Harry follows behind him, still holding his half full beer, and shuts the door behind them. The air on the new porch is different, the falling rain making it cooler than it’s been all day but still heavy and dense. And the sound, well-- it’s not like what Harry’s listens to when he uses his white noise app. The raindrops thud against the tin roof so loudly that it’s almost as though Harry can feel each one reverberating down through the tin roof and right into him. Simultaneously, he and Louis inhale deeply, looking at one another and laughing as they let their breath out. 

“It’s wonderful,” Harry breathes after a few moments of silence. “So peaceful.” 

“Romantic?” Louis asks quietly. 

“Yeah.” Harry says it without thinking, only realizing it a moment later when he turns to Louis. Who’s smiling softly, pleased, confident. “I think it’s the company.” 

They stand there quietly listening to the rain until it eases up some, the wind settling and the drops that fall not quite so urgent, and Louis nods toward the door. As they go in, Bug appears from Harry’s room where she’s been asleep most of the day. She sniffs at Louis’ bare leg and gives it a nice little head butt followed by a few licks before she heads to the door to look out at the newly covered porch. Louis smiles down at her for a moment and then looks to Harry with a smile. 

“Well, she’s going to enjoy that for sure,” he says, nodding toward the cat. 

“And maybe you could come over and enjoy it with us? Possibly after showing me where I’m supposed to find world famous Texas barbeque or something?” Harry smiles at the thought as he says it, hoping he’s not coming off too odd. 

“Oh, it’s a date,” Louis says, returning his goofy grin. “But I’m not waiting for the next rainstorm if that’s alright with you.” 

It is.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> When I saw the prompt for this week, some of my first thoughts were of the tin roof on my back porch in Austin when I lived there a few years ago. Listening to the rain was so peaceful, and always a welcome respite from the nightmarish heat that was typical there. No shade to Torchy's (or at Torchy's in my experience, ouch), but my actual fave tacos are Mi Madre's. They aren't cheap tho, and Taco Window really is. Classique!
> 
> The LBJ museum is real, btw, and is an absolutely perfect activity on a hot day. They even have an animatronic LBJ who says folksy things at the press of a button. However, I don't know a thing about curation or jobs at a museum, so. Um. Please don't yell at me for misrepresenting things. 
> 
> I do know just a little about construction though. So hopefully there are no inaccuracies there. 
> 
> And finally, I was a bit sick this week, so this fic is unbetaed (barely finished in time!) so all mistakes are mine. Oops and, um. Hi. 
> 
> If you liked it, though, there's a fic post [here](https://tmblr.co/Z0sn1v) for reblogging.


End file.
